STICKY NOTES // JSchlatt X Reader

28

Schlatt was leaving tomorrow morning. 

Everything was set up and ready to go - his bags were mostly packed and waiting in his room, you had set three alarms so you remembered to get up and drive him to the airport on time. Maddy had already said goodbye since she was at Jake's and wouldn't be back before he was gone. You had both gone to bed early, so that you wouldn't be too tired when you got up.

The apartment was too quiet at night, leaving you alone in bed with your thoughts. 

You were dreading him leaving so much that you couldn't sleep. It felt like you had just gotten back to that happy place, and now it was going to end too soon again, without any change. Of course, you were so happy that you were friends with Schlatt, but you desperately wanted more - yet simultaneously were too scared to do anything about it.

So you just laid in bed, thinking about he was in the other room, probably asleep, and leaving in a short seven hours.

You rolled over, pressing your face into your pillow. Maddy had even cleared out for the weekend so that you could make your move without her being around and accidentally ruining it. And what had you done? Stayed in the friend zone. Because you were scared. 

What were you even scared of? Rejection, of course, but logically, you knew that Schlatt would try to laugh it off and let you down easy. And wasn't it better to try and fail than not try at all?

You shook the thought from your head - late night confidence was never a good thing. You rolled over again, shifting to get more comfortable and hopefully fall asleep finally - only to find yourself staring at the crumpled paper heart that was sitting on your nightstand. The one you had intended to give him on the original trip, but had forgotten about. The one you had made during the love or host for him.

You sat up, slipping your feet off the side of the bed and reaching out to grab the crumpled paper, running your fingers over the edges. It was a little battered, but still a heart. You should give it to him when he left. 

You didn't want him to leave.

Getting out of bed fully, you reached underneath, fumbling for the box you had dumped most of the paper hearts into. You sifted a finger through them, catching on the thin edges. There must have been at least a hundred - a testament to how bad you had it for him. 

As you absently played with the hearts an idea wormed it's way into your head slowly - telling him how you felt without telling him at all, letting all the hearts you had folded do the speaking for you. It would be easy enough, and if he reacted badly you could just laugh and say it was a prank that you had planned for the last day of the trip.

Late night confidence was never a good thing. It led to texting exes, or doing dumb things like spending fifty dollars on Taco Bell at three in the morning. And now, it was leading you to grab the box of hearts and open the door of your bedroom quietly, peeking out and looking at Schlatt's door - lights off. He was asleep.

You tiptoed out to the living room and flicked one of the lamps on with a quiet click, casting the room with a soft glow. The box of hearts was set down on the TV table and your surveyed the space around you - you would have enough hearts to stretch down to the bedrooms, you thought. 

Two months of absentmindedly folding sticky notes into little hearts would turn out to be useful, after all.

You started at the end of the trail - it would lead to the couch, where you had sat and spent a whole day playing Mario Kart and kicking each other (both in game and in real life). What would be on the couch as the final touch, you were unsure - the idea was still half formed in your mind, but it was better than just laying in bed and making yourself sadder. 

Each time you placed a heart in the little line, you couldn't help but think of the time you had spent pining and folding them all - a stretch of two months that you weren't proud of, but had happened anyway. You supposed it hadn't been a terrible way of coping (most therapists did recommend crafts) - maybe a little wasteful of paper, but that was alright. They would serve their use now.

You could only hope that Schlatt would be receptive though. This was a last ditch effort, a push from your own mind and the universe to stop whining, get of your ass, and do something about it. You had already tried to get yourself over this crush to no avail - it was due time to try the other option, telling him about it and hoping he took it well.

If he didn't, it was fine. He was leaving anyway, and you could drop him off at the airport and go wallow at home by yourself until Maddy came back and gently bullied you out of being sad. It had happened before, unfortunately, but at least you knew that she would deal with you moping around without too much complaint. 

If he did... you might die on the spot. But it would be well worth it, in your opinion. You had spent quite a bit pining over this man, and if this crazy half-brewed plan managed to actually get him to reciprocate your feelings... well... 

You dropped another heart in the line with a heady sigh. It was awfully romantic, laying paper hearts in a trail across your apartment. You just had to hope that when Schlatt opened his door and saw a trail of hearts leading away from it, he would think so as well.